This year traveling around the world is put on hold, but there is another way you can do it this summer with Summer Book Bingo. The “In Translation” square let’s you travel by armchair from China to Morocco to India. Here are a few recommendations to get you started on your Book Bingo journey. Safe travels!
First stop is Iraq with The Beekeeper: Rescuing the Stolen Women of Iraq by Dunyā Mīkhāʼīl. A nonfiction book translated from Arabic, it tells the story of several women who have been held captive by Daesh (ISIS) and of their escape with the help of a local beekeeper.
Second stop on our journey is Casablanca in The Happy Marriage by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Translated from French, this fiction novel is told from two separate points of view, the husband who has written and hidden a book blaming everything wrong with his life on his wife. When his wife finds it, she writes her own interpretation of the events held within.
The third stop on our journey is India in The Story of A Goat by Perumāḷmurukan. Translated from Tamil, the story is told from the goat’s perspective. A farmer and his wife are given a black goat kid who is the runt of the litter. As the goat gets nursed to health and continues to live a very full life we learn of her adventures and tribulations.
Let’s stop next at Japan and visit a library in The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. A young boy gets lost in a maze inside a nightmarish library where an old man wants to eat his brains. With the help of a voiceless girl and a sheep man, they will attempt to escape.
Our final stop is China with The Four Books by Lianke Yan. Translated from Chinese, artistic and academic free thinking individuals are in a reeducation camp to bring them back to Communism. The person in charge of them is a preadolescent child who is cruel in their punishments, but can also at times be sympathetic.
For more inspiration read these previous blog posts:
For more books in translation, check out our book list!
For more ideas for books to meet your Summer Book Bingo challenge, follow our Shelf Talk #BookBingoNW2020 series or check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2020 on social media. Book bingo is presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures .
~posted by Pam H.
During quarantine one of my goals was going through all the Marvel movies in order of release (I’ve heard I’m not the only one). This had me falling in love with Loki all over again. This set of a spark in me to read more books about Loki and myths in general. I also lucked out that there is a bingo square this year just for this purpose: Myth or fable (original or retold).
